1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and in particular, to a method of and device for preventing short circuits between solder joints in flip chip packaging.
2. Description of Related Art
Multi-layer ceramic electronic components are typically joined together by soldering pads on a surface of one of the electronic components to corresponding pads on the surface of the other component. Controlled Collapse Chip Connection is an interconnect technology developed by IBM as an alternative to wire bonding. This technology is generally known as C4 technology or flip chip packaging. Broadly stated, one or more integrated circuit chips are mounted above a single or multi-layer ceramic substrate and pads on the chip are electrically and mechanically connected to corresponding pads on the substrate by a plurality of electrical connections such as solder bumps. The integrated circuit chips may be assembled in an array such as a 10xc3x9710 array on the multi-layer ceramic surface.
Often in flip chip packaging, a semiconductor chip is joined to a substrate by means of solder joints where an array of connections from the chip are connected to a corresponding array of connections on the substrate using solder such as a lead/tin alloy. The solder is deposited on bonding pads located on the surface of the chip and substrate by means of evaporation or plating and then reflowed to cause the solder to wet the I/O pad. The chip is placed on the substrate and fluxed to ensure good wetting between the I/O pads and the solder. The chip and substrate are then subjected to a higher temperature causing the solder to melt and wet each I/O pad on the package. The assembly is cooled causing the solder to solidify, thereby providing one or more electrical connections between the chip and the substrate forming an electronic package.
Subsequently, the assembly can be cleaned to receive a nonconductive underfill to reduce the fatigue of the solder joints between the chip and the substrate. In underfiliing the electronic package to provide additional stability of the solder joints, a polymer with ceramic or glass filler is allowed to flow under the chip, between the solder connections, and later heated at an elevated temperature causing the polymer or filled polymer to cure. In this structure and method, added cost in production is incurred due to the sequential operations of solder depositions, reflow, join, underfill, and polymer cure.
The prior art methods of flip chip assembly do not prevent the solder joints from being over compressed when the chip and substrate are joined. Deformity of the solder joint can lead to short circuits when one solder joint is in contact with an adjacent solder joint. Underfilling will not prevent the shorting since the solder-to-solder contact has already been made. Thus, it is desirable to have a means of preventing short circuits between adjacent solder joints which would result in increased yield and reliability of the resulting electronic module.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of preventing short circuits between solder joints in an electronic module.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of fabricating the apparatus for preventing short circuits between solder joints in an electronic module.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of assembling an electronic module having enhanced yield and reliability.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electronic module having enhanced reliability.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The above and other objects and advantages, which will be apparent to one of skill in the art, are achieved in the present invention which is directed to, in a first aspect, a method of fabricating an interposer for electronic packaging comprising the steps of (a) providing a dielectric sheet; (b) forming a plurality of apertures traversing a thickness of the sheet; and (c) forming cone shaped solder elements within the apertures.
In step (a), the dielectric sheet is preferably a polyester film such as Kapton(trademark) or Mylar(trademark), polyimide, an inorganic powder filler in an organic polymer, a dielectric sheet containing an adhesive, a heat curable polymer or an inorganic material such as glass (SiO2) or alumina (Al2O3).
In step (b) the plurality of apertures are preferably formed by photolithography, mechanical punching, precision drilling, or laser ablation.
In step (c) the cone shaped solder elements are formed by injection molding, or by placing solder balls into the apertures and coining the solder balls with a die having cone shaped cavities.
The method may further include the step of coating the solder elements with tin or coating the solder elements with a second solder having a lower melting temperature than the solder elements. Additionally, the step of attaching an adhesive layer to a linear surface of the dielectric sheet may be included as well.
The present invention is directed to, in a second aspect, an interposer for chip to substrate joining comprising a dielectric sheet having a plurality of vias, the vias traversing a thickness of the sheet; and conical solder elements deposited within the vias of the sheet.
The dielectric sheet preferably comprises an organic polymer, polyimide, a polyester film such as Kapton(trademark) or Mylar(trademark), an inorganic powder filler in an organic polymer, a dielectric sheet containing an adhesive, a heat curable polymer or an inorganic material such as glass (SiO2) or alumina (Al2O3).
The vias in the dielectric sheet are preferably formed by photolithography, mechanical punching, precision drilling, or laser ablation.
The cone shaped solder elements are preferably injection molded or coined solder balls deposited in the vias coined with a die having cone shaped cavities. The solder elements may be coated with tin or coated with a second solder having a lower melting temperature than the solder elements.
The interposer may further include an adhesive sheet having corresponding apertures to the vias disposed on a linear surface of the dielectric sheet.
The present invention is directed to, in still yet another aspect, a method of assembling electronic modules comprising the steps of: (a) providing a semiconductor chip; (b) providing a substrate for mounting the chip; (c) providing an interposer comprising a dielectric sheet having a plurality of apertures, the apertures traversing a thickness of the sheet; and conical solder elements deposited within the apertures of the sheet; (d) aligning the interposer between the chip and the substrate; and (e) thermally reflowing the solder elements creating an electrical connection between the chip and the substrate.
In step (c) the dielectric sheet comprises an organic polymer, polyimide, a polyester film such as Kapton(trademark) or Mylar(trademark), an inorganic powder filler in an organic polymer, a heat curable polymer, or an inorganic material such as glass (SiO2) or alumina (Al2O3)
Wherein in step (c) the dielectric sheet comprises a heat curable polymer, step (e) produces an underfilled electronic module. In step (d) the solder elements are aligned to corresponding bonding pads on surfaces of the chip and the substrate.
The method may further include forming an adhesive layer on a surface of the interposer, and prior to step (d), the step of coating the conical solder elements with a lower melting solder than the solder elements or with tin.
The present invention is directed to, in still yet another aspect, a flip chip electronic module comprising a semiconductor chip; a substrate for mounting the chip; and a dielectric interposer disposed between the chip and substrate having a plurality of apertures, the apertures traversing a thickness of the interposer, and conical solder elements deposited within the apertures, wherein the module is thermally reflowed such that the chip and the substrate are electrically and mechanically interconnected by the solder elements and the solder elements are not in contact with an adjacent solder element.
The solder elements of the module may be coated with tin or a lower melting temperature solder than the solder elements.
The dielectric interposer may comprise of an organic polymer, polyimide, a polyester film such as Kapton(trademark) or Mylar(trademark), an inorganic powder filler in an organic polymer, a polymer with an adhesive, a heat curable polymer, or an inorganic material such as glass (SiO2) or alumina (Al2O3). The interposer may further include adhesive layers disposed on the linear surfaces of the interposer.
The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a substrate of the prior art.
FIG. 2 is an elevational cross-sectional view of an electronic module of the prior art.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an interposer of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an interposer of the present invention aligned with a substrate.
FIG. 5 is an elevational cross-sectional view of an electronic module utilizing the interposer of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an elevational cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the interposer of the present invention.